(This WMk, in plac* of tho
usual column, tho editor of The
A^rror proudly presents an es
say entitled Good Citxenship in
the School, written by a New
Bern High school student, Craig
White. Her essay won third prize
in a State-wide contest sponsor
ed by Civitan.)
Good citizenship? Good citizen
ship in the school? That is not hard
to define. Why, I see it around me
every day. I see it in the little
things—a student holding open
door for a teacher, a Senior track
star helping a Freshman to in
crease his running speed so that
he can make the team, a group of
girls inviting a new girl to eat
lunch with them, a student helping
another pick up the books he has
dropped, a boy telling the school
dietitiai) that he enjoyed the lunch,
I see it in the big things—^the
football team praying in the lock
er room before a game, students
following an unwritten code of no
cheating in class, school elections
being held without dirty politics or
hard feelings, the newspaper staff
voting not to have a “gossip col
umn” in the school paper because
it might hurt someone, popularity
based not on looks, or clothes, or
who can give the best parties, but
on friendliness, integrity, and high
moral standards.
I see it in the spirit behind school
functions—the spirit that makes
the students yell hard for their
basketball team, the same spirit
that keeps them from «“boping”
when the other team’s playeir
makes two free throws to tie up the
score, the spirit that makes the
Girls’ Tri Hi Y get up on a cold
rainy Saturday morning to help
with the Heart Fund Drive, the
spirit that keeps the yearbook staff
working late into the night, time
after time, to make the school year
book one the students will be proud
to own.
And I see the rewards of good
citizenship in the school—1 see it
in better student-faculty relation
ships; I see it in more students
making the l^onor roll, better spirit
at ball games, friendlier relation
ship between upper and underclass
men, more work and less arguing
at club meetings, better student
participation in all school func
tions.
I see the rewards of good citizen
ship in the school extending out
side the limits of the school—a
group of Boys’ Hi Y members at
tending church together, a mem
ber of the Student Council refus
ing to “drag race’’ when the others
try to goad him into doing it, a
group of Seniors getting together
outside of school to buy some
clothes for a fellow Senior whose
house burned down.
Yes, the practice of good citizen
ship in the school is a wonderful
thing. It adds to school life what
study and clubs and sports cannot
add. It builds character in the indi
vidual. But it is up to the individu
al to build good citizenship in the
school. The member of an honor
club—national Honor Society, Stu
dent Council, Boys’ or Girls Hi Y—
should constantly strive to set good
examples in scholarship and deport
ment. The cheerleader and the ath
lete should set examples of good
sportsmanship for all to follow,
both on the field and in the class
room. And the student who is not
an acknowledged schdbl leader
should always try to be a good citi
zen, for quite often, the quiet,'de-
pendable worker exerts more influ
ence on his fellow classmates than
he himself realizes.
Yes, there is nothing more impor
tant today than the practice of good
citizenship in the schools of our
nation.,There is no way of telling
how far its influence may spread.
(Continued on back page)
The NEW BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN fHE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME I
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1958
NUMBER 6
Death of Dogs
Causes Strong
Feelings Here
Park and Spencer avenues in the
Ghent area have been turned^ into
heartbreak lanes by the City’s' rap
id-fire roundup and asphyxiation of
dogs thereabouts.
Grownups are indignant, tots are
sorrowful, and authorities alleged
ly evasive since two neighborhood
pets beloved by many disappeared
on the afternoon of Tuesday, April
29.
That was the ill-fated day when
the town’s official dog catcher re
portedly picked up 10 hapless can
ines, hot-footed it to his miniature
gas chamber and made short work
of the process of extinction.
Just whose dogs fell victim to
this swift slaughter is a matter for
grim speculation. Lacy White says
he is certain that one pf the
pooches was his Fritzy, and Bill
Wheeler is equally sure that Duke
was likewise in the legion of the
condemned,
White’s pet was' part Spitz and
part Feist, while Wheeler’s was a
fox terrier. Each, beyond the af
fection of it$ owner, was popular
as a playmate for neighboring chil
dren.
“I wasn’t at home when'it hap
pened,’’ says Lacy. “I missed my
dog and he has never been found.
Until then he had never been away
from home. I’ve talked to Captain
Robinson (then Acting Chief of
Police) and other policemen, and
they promised to .inve^igate,- but
I got no satisfaction. If anybody
knows anything, they’re not talk
ing.”
Bill, when interviewed about the
loss of his pet, said that he too was
away from home, but that neigh
bors saw Duke get picked up. By
the time White and Wheeler got
to 'the dbg pound, it was all over.
“They were -killed at 4 o’clock
Tuesday afternoon,” says Bill.
White insists " that FYitz was
wearing a collar with hi$ tag at
tached. Wheeler said Duke had a
copper wire about his neck, to
which his tag had been fastened.'
As can well be imagined, neither
man is in a mood to shrug the oc
curence off. “One of my neighbors
(Continued on back page)
Looks Like Orioles
Robbie Expected
New Bern’s, and all North Car
olina’s young man of the century,
Rbbbie Kennel, has decided to ac-
c,ept-a flattering major league con-
ttact.
All things equal, Robbie’s choice
(ivill be the Baltimore Orioles. Our
)guess is he will get $45,000, or
thereabouts, for signing, and go to
Knoxville, a Baltimore farm club
Heavy bidding from other major
league clubs might upset The Mir
ror’s prediction, but we doubt it.
At least four clubs had hopes of
landing the State College catcher,
including the Baltimore Orioles,
the New York Yankees, the Phil
lies, and Kansas City.
Every ivory hunter in the game,
according to the frank admission
of one big league scout, had Rob
bie in their scouting book as Amer
ica’s best college receiver.
This is no revelation to fans who
have seen him on the diamond, nor
to the seasoned expert^ who picked
him as the top college catcher in
the entire South when he was only
a sophomore.
As far back as his high school
days here, when he captained the
baseball, football and basketball
teams, young Kennel had more
ability and far more savvy than
the average collegian working be
hind the plate.
It was no easy decision for Rob
bie to make, this business of a pro
fessional career in sports, although
baseball has always been his first
love since he could toddle, and a
catching job in the Big Leagues
was his life-long dream.
As conscientous as he is brilliant,
the amazing youngster spent some
(Continued on back page)
New Bernians
Shun Worship
At Night Hour
How can you get folks to go to
church on Sunday night? If you’ve
got a satisfactory solution, pass it
along to New Bern ministers, who
for the most part preach to empty
pews each Sabbath when the eve
ning worship hour rolls around.
Much of the blame is placed on
television, with its array of appeal
ing Sunday night programs. Yet,
even before TV arrived, church
members stayed away from night
services in droves.
There can be no denying that
television has taken its toll, espe
cially during the heighth of Ed
Sullivan’s now waning popularity.
And of course many another dis
tracting factor figures in the mass
indifference of our times.
Generally speaking, the local
churches have an attendance at
morning services that ranges from
fair to good to excellent. Seldom is
it poor, except during summer
months when residents are out of
town vacationing.
But those evening services are
downright pathetic, regardless of
the season. People usually arrange
tp do what they really want to do,
so it is quite obvious that the
great majority, for reasons satis
factory to, themselves, just don’t
care for evening worship at the
church of their choice.
One possible stimulant could be
an exchange of preachers. Let the
pastor of Centenary Methodist
preach at the First Baptist church
while the pastor of the First Bap
tist church preached at Centenary.
All churches could participate in
this exchange plan. If nothing else,
folks of every denomination would
get to hear New Bern ministers
preach that they had never heard
before.
And, out of courtesy for the visit
ing parson, they might show up in
larger numbers.-
School Kids Love
Firemen's Museum
Hundreds of school children
from miles around have been flock
ing to the Firemen’s Museum dur
ing recent days.
Today, for example, pupils from
Vanceboro will be over for a morn
ing visit, and will then continue
eastward to historic Fort Macon.
Ordinarily the museum isn’t
open until early afternoon, but
the museum chairman, Roy Tucker,
sees to it that exceptions are made
for interested pupils.
Harry's Home Was Right in
That Tiny Telephone Booth
VIOLENT BEAUTY—Theodor Baxter's camera caught the majestic
sweep of Dame Nature's handiwork in this view of a thunderhead
high above the placid waters of the sun-speckled Neuse. If it looks
like a work of art to you, you're a discerning critic. In fact, the cur
rent issue of Modern Photography is carrying the awe-inspiring
scene. This particular thunderhead {probably extends 30,000 feet in
the air, and conceivably its dangerous down draft, could range as
high as 350 miles an hoUr. Ice forms in the upper portion and des
cending ends up as hail. Rain is clearly discernible in this remark
able view. Imagine a painter's exasperation if he tried to duplicate
this scene on canvas.
Harry Elefantis took time out
from his counter work at Williams
Restaurant the other morning to
step into the phone booth and
make a n^ighty important call.
Dialing' long distance, the 24-
year-old New Bern High school
graduate told the operator he want
ed to talk to George and Fotini
Elefantis in Karpenissi, Greece.
They are his parents.
In almost no time at all they
were on the phone, and clamoring
to talk too were his 17-year-told sis
ter, Bessie, ahd his nine-year-old
sister, Helen.
It’s been almost seven years
since Harry left home for America,
so there was a lot to talk about.
In fact, the conversation ran lOVz
minutes and cost Harry more than
$40.
He considered the money well
spent. “My mother cried,” he said
afterward. “They knew I was going
to call, and all the neighbors came
over. I couldn’t talk to them, but
they enjoyed the excitement.”
Harry, like other foreigners who
have made the most of their oppor
tunities in the Land of the Free,
is quite a remarkable young man.
He entered the freshman class at
New Bern High as soon as he ar
rived here, and graduated on sched
ule. '
April a year ago he passed his
citizenship requirements and is
now as American as the buffalo on
a nickel. A great sports enthusiast,
he thinks Mickey Mantle of the
New York Yankees is Super Man
himself, and has been to Washing
ton and New York to see major
league baseball.
He enjoys basketball too, and in
variably pulls for Carolina’s Tar
Heels. He all but blew his stack
last year when they won the Na
tional Championship.
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